Contact receptacle



Sept. 6, 1927.

I A. c. GAYNOR CONTACT RECEPTACLE Filed April 23, 1924 [N V/f/VTORARTHUR C. GA Y/VOR.

If Y

Patented Sept. 6, 1927.

ARTHUR C. GAYNOR, F STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT.

CONTACT RECEPTACLE.

Application filed April 23, 1924. Serial No. 708,392.

This invention relates to a receptacle for electrical terminals adaptedto receive and connect with contact jacks or blades of connecting plugsof electrical apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates toreceptacles adapted to receive jacks or blades arranged either inparallel or in tandem.

In some types of electric connectors a pair of flat jacks or blades,through which contact connections are made, are arranged in parallel,spaced planes, while in other types, the blades are arranged in spacedpositions in a single plane, this arrangement being known as a tandem.Inasmuch as a contact 5 receptacle arranged to receive only one type ofblades could not receive the other, because of its ditl'erentspecialarrangement, contact receptacles have been designed with duplicate setsof blade receiving contacts, one for blades. This results inconsiderable duplication, in forming the receiving contacts of manyconnected pieces of metal, and, consequently, in an increase in the costand complexity of the receptacles.

These defects and disadvantages are obviated by my present invention, anobject of which is to provide a. receptacle contact of a single piece ofmetal formed to receive a contact blade in either the parallel or tandemposition.

Another object of the invention is to provide a contact terminal of theabove type in which the metal is so formed or bent as to provide awedging or resilient inclined contact surface between the blade andcontact terminals in the receptacle.-

Other objects of the invention are to provide a receptacle terminal andbinding screw arrangement by which the binding screw receiving elementis held in a fixed station on the receptacle terminal, toprovide areceptacle enclosure of insulating material suitable for the accurateand ready positioning and mounting of the terminals therein, and toprovide a form of bending the metal of which the terminals are formed bywhich a tilting of the terminals is readily obtained when theseterminals are attached to the inner face of an insulated receptacle.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises thereceptacle and contacts described and set forth in the followingspecification and claims.

The various features of the invention are tandem blades and the otherfor parallel illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a receptacle embodying a preferred form of theinvention,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the receptacle shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section Fig. 4 is a detail sectionalview of a portion of the receptacle and of a contact therein taken online 44 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the receptacle andcontact taken on line 5- 5 of Fig. 3,

Fi 6 is a sectional view similar to that of Fig. 5 and of a bladeinserted into the receptacle showing the manner in which such a bladewedges with the receptacle contact Fig. 7 isa perspective view of a side0 an insulating receptacle and of a contact terminal mounted thereon.

Fi 8 is a perspective view of a contact termmal for the receptacle, and,

Fig. 9 is a side view of a stri of metal cut to a sha e suitable forbendlng to the form shown 1n Fig. 8.

In my present invention, the blade receiving contacts are mounted onopposite innor faces of a. receptacle of insulating material, the wallsof the receptacle on which these contacts are mounted being so spaced asto bring a receiving portion of the contacts immediately under therespective openings in a cover through which the blades of theelectrical apparatus are inserted. The blade receiving portion of theterminal is so mounted on the side of the receptacle that it does notlie flat against the face of the wall but tilts slightly away in avertical direction so that a contact blade being inserted verticallywill tend to bend the receiving portion of the terminal as it movesdownwardly therein, thus insuring a positive pressure and an effectivecontact therebetween. This is preferably brou ht about, in making theterminal of a single strip of metal, by cutting away a part of the widthof the strip, folding the end portion back on this cut away portion sothat part of it'overlaps the cut away portion and attaching the strip tothe wall of the race tacle at this overlapping portion, the portionoverlying the cut away half of the strip thus being forced closer to thewall and giving the strip of the receptacle taken on line 33 of Fig.

a sidewise tilt. The other end of the strip is bent to an angle or gablethe sloping sides of which correspond to the blades of a tandem orparallel arrangement respectively and the stri is then curved towardsthese sloping sur aces to leave sulliclent space therebetween to receivea contact blade in a tight. frictional grip.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings,'a receptacleembodying the resent invention is provided with a pair of side walls and12 on the opposing inner faces of which are mounted a pair of bladereceiving contact terminals 14 and 16, respectively. Each contactterminal is formed with a fiat portion 18 adapted to rest against theinner face of the respective wall on which the terminal is mounted, anda portion 20 at one end bent to such a form as to receive a contactblade in either of the two positions which it may occupy when inparallelor tandem arrangement.

The blade receiving ortion 20 is formed from a strip of metal 0 whichthe terminals are formed by bending the strip away from the surfacelying adjacent the supporting wall to form a ridge or angle 22 a shortdistance from one end of the strip having sloping side walls 24 and 26.The contact terminals are so proportioned that when mounted on theopposing inner faces of the walls 10 and 12 as indicated in Fig. 1, thesloping faces 2% lie in parallel planes and are spaced to contact withthe outer faces of bladesarranged in parallel and the faces 26 lie inapproximately a'single plane to contact with oppositefaces of bladesarranged in parallel.

To hold an inserted blade tightly against the surface of the slopingwall portion 26, the strip is continued beyond this portion and thenbent cylindrically as at 28 until the end of the strip ap roachessufficiently close to the sloping sur ace to tightly grip a bladetherebetween. I provide a similar holding means for the sloping surface24, the strip is notched at 80 a distance from the opposite end and slithorizontally from the bottom of the notch towards the end portion 28forming a tongue 32 above the slit and a connecting strip portion 34below the slit. The tongue 32 is then bent cylindrically towards thesloping surface 24 until its end is sutliciently close to tightly pressan inserted blade against the surface 24. The upper edge of the slopingportion 2a and 26 is beveled as at 36 to facilitate and guide theentrance of the blade between the cylindrical and the sloping portions.

To provide the greatest pressure between the faces of the blades and thesloping faces 24: and 26, the terminals are preferably so tilted thattheir upper edges lie tightly against the inner face of the wall 10 or12 and the lower edge is slightly spaced therefrom as indicated in Fig.5. With this arrangement, when a blade 38 is inserted vertically, ittends to press the lower end of the receiving contact against the wall10 or 12 as indicated in Fig. 6, thus increasing the pressure betweenthe blade and contact and the surface of the terminal.

To give the terminal the desired tilted position, the flat attachingportion 18 is folded or doubled the underlying layer or fold lyingadjacent the supporting wall serving to space the lower portion of anouter fold which extends upwardl above the upper edge of the underlyingold and is attached and drawn to the surface of the supporting wall by arivet above the up er edge of said underlying spacing fold. or thispurpose the strip of metal from which the terminal is to be formed isbent on a line 40 transverse to the connecting strip portion 34outwardly from the supportin wall and folded tightly against the outerace of the strip portion 34, thus forming an overlying portion 42composed of the portion of the strip between the line of folding 40 andthe end of the strip. The lower half of the portion 42 lies over the'strip portion 34 while the upper half lies over the cut out spaceformed by the curving of the tongue portion 32, and is therefore free tobe drawn tightly against the surface of the supporting wall 10 or 12. Tosecure the portion 42 to the supporting wall, an opening 4 1 is providedin its upper portion through which a hollow rivet 46 may be passed torivet the terminal to the wall 10 or 12, this rivet serving to draw theupper edge of the strip against the wall while the lower edge is spacedtherefrom by the strip portion 34 and thus serving to give theinclination to the terminal indicated in Figs. 4 and 5.

The opening in the rivet 46 is threaded to receive the stem of a bindingscrew 48 by means of which a conductor or lead wire may be attached tothe outer edge of the rivet. To resist the tendency of the binding screwto turn the rivet, the head 50 of the rivet lying against the terminalportion 42 is made square and the metal strip is bent upwardly on a line52 a short distance from the edge formed adjacent the notch 30 to lieagainst one edge of the squared head 50.

To enable the. walls 10 and 12 to be accurately spaced from each otherso that the terminals may be at the required distance from each other,the walls of the receptacle in which the terminals are mounted areformed of plates or laminae of insulating material accurately stamped orcut to the required size and fitted together to form a receptacle of theproper size. For this purpose the ends of the side walls 10 and 12 arenotched as at 54 and 56 to interfit with suitable notches and lugs ofend walls 58 and 60. These walls and a bottom wall 62 are then hold inposition by a metal frame 64 havin a bottom wall'66, end walls 68 and 70an inwardly projecting. flanges 72 to engage the edges of the insulatingwalls of the recep-- tacle.-

A cover member 74 is provided to cover and overly the receptacle formedby the insulating walls and is formed with a metallic frame portion 76having a centralopening in which a plate of insulating material 78,preferably of circular form may be inserted. The frame portion 76 isattached to the ends of the frame 64 by means of lugs 80 projcctingupwardly from the ends of the frame 64 through openings 82 in the frameportion 7 (S and clinched, thereover to hold the cover in place. A plateof insulating material 84 is also provided under the central insulatingeasily and cheaply stamped from plate 78 of the cover 74. The plate 84may be provided with openings 86 into whic may fit lugs 88 extendingupwardly from the side walls to hold these walls in their properposition. The plates 78 and 84 are also provided with angular openings90 and 92 so shaped and positioned over the terminals as to ermitcontact blades to be inserted theret irough in either arallel or tandemrelation into contact with the inclined faces 24 and 26 of the terminalmeml)('lS. The metallic frame 76 of the cover may also be provided withopenings 94 and 96 by whichthe receptacle may be secured in place. oneset of openings 94 being punched downwardly in such a manner as to forma countersunk outer face 98 and to thicken the metal about the openingthat it may receive screw threads.

Through the above invention a contact re ceptacle is provided that maybe formed of plates of insulating material easily and cheaply stamped tothe required sizes. Contact terminals are also provided that may bemetal with a minimum waste. The various arts of the receptacle may beeasily assemb ed without the necessity of embedding screws or similarattaching means in the walls of the reccptacle and in which the bindingscrews and attaching connecting means are very accessible.

As changes of construction could be made within the scope of myinvention it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limitin sense.

.Having described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1. A device of the type described which comprises, astrip of metal notched and slit to form a longitudinally extendintongue, said strip being bent near one en to form azridge with angularlysloping sides and curve to bring the end of said strip to within a shortdistance of one of said sloping sides and the end of said tongue beingcurved to within a short distance of the other of'said sloping sides,and the other end of said strip being folded flat on the same side ofsaid strip as said ridge to overlap the space formed by cutting andcurving the tongue portion.

2. A device of the type described which comprises, a stri notched andslit to form an L-shaped en and a tongue portion extending toward saidL-shaped end, the strip being bent near its other end to form a ridgewith sloping side portions and curved'to bring its end into closelyspaced position to one of said sloping side port-ions said tongue beingcurved to bring its end to within a short distance of the other slopingside portion, said L-shaped end being bent fiat on said stri' on atransverse line, a portion of said en overlap ing the-space left by thecutting out and bending of said tongue.

3. A device of the type described which comprises, a strip of-metalnotched and slit to form an L-shapcd end and a tongue portion extendingtoward said L-shaped end, the strip being bent near its other end toform a ridge with sloping side portionsand ,curved to bring its end intoclosely spaced position to one of said sloping side portions, saidtongue being curved to bring its end to within a short distance of theother sloping side portion, said L-shaped end being bent fiat on saidstrip on a transverse line, a portion of said end overlapping the spaceleft by the cutting out .and bending of said tongue, said overlappingportion being provided with an openlng for the attachment of a rivet.

4. A device of the typedescribed which comprises a strip of metalnotched and slit to form an L-shapcd end and a tongue portion extendingtoward said L-shaped end, the strip being bent near its other end toform a ridge with sloping side portions and curved to bring its end intoclosely spaced position to one of said slo ing side portions, saidtongue being curve to bring its end to within a short distance of theother sloping side portion, said L-shaped end being bent flat on saidstrip on a transverse line, a portion of said end overlapping the spacele t by the cutting out and curving of said tongue, said overlappingportion being provided with an opening for the attachment of a rivet,and an upturned edge on said overlapping portion adapted to rest againstan edge of said rivet.

5. Adevice of the type described which comprises, a receptacle having awall of insulating material, and a cover having openings slightly inwardfrom the inner face of said wall, a contact, a terminal comprising astrip of metal having a substantially flat portion mounted on the innerface of said well, thestrip being bent near one end to form a ridge withsloping side edges under said cover opening and curved to bring its endsto within a short space of one of said sloping sides and a tongue bentto bring its end within a short distanceof the other sloping side, saidstrip being so mount-ed on said wall that its upper edge nearest saidopening lies close against said Wall and the lower edge is sprung awaytherefrom.

6. A device of the type described wh ch comprises, a receptacle aving awall of insulating material and a cover having open ings positionedslightly inwardly from the inner face of said wall, a contact terminalcomprising a strip of metal having a flat portion adapted to lie againstthe inner face of said wall, said strip being bent near one end to forma ridge vwith sides slo ing at an angle to said wall, and carve awayfrom said wall to bring the end of said strip to within a short space ofone sloping side, alongitudinal tongue portion cut from said strip andcurved to bring its end to within a short space of the other slopingside, said spaces lying beneath said openings in said cover, the otherend of said strip being folded tight against the face of said strip awayfrom said wall and overlapping the space in said strip formed by thecutting and curving of said tongue, and means holding said overlappingportion close against said wall permitting the lower edge to spring awaytherefrom.

7. A device of the t pe described which comprises a receptacle liaving awall of insulating material and a cover having an opening slightlyspaced inwardly from said wall, a contact terminal comprising a strip ofmetal havin a flat portion adapted to lie against the inner face of saidwall, said strip being bent near one end to form a rid e with sidessloping atan angle to said we I, and curved away from said wall to bringthe end of said strip to within a short space of one of said slopingsides, and a longitudinal tongue ortion cut from said strip and curvedto ring its end to within a short space of the other sloping side, saidspaces lying beneath said opening in said cover, the other end of saidstri being forced tight against the face of sai strip away from saidwall and overlapping the space in said strip formed by the cutting andcurving of said tongue, and a tubular rivet extending through said walland the overlappin holding said over apping portion tight against saidwall and plermitting the lower edge to sprin away t erefrom, said rivethaving a head with a straight edge, said strip having an edge turnedupward against said straight ed e of said rivet.

8. A device 0 the type described which comprises, a contact terminalformed of a strip of metal having a blade receiving portion at one endand afiat attachment portion at the other end, said fiat attachmentportion being partly cut-away and having a portion folded to overlap thecut-away section and means for attaching said overdappingfportion to asupporting surface.

9 A evice of the type described which comprises, a contact terminalformed of a strip of metal havin a blade receiving portion at one end,an a Hat supporting portion at the other end, said flat supportingportion of said strip ortion having a double thickness at its ower edgeand a single thickness at its upper edge to cause the lower edge of saidb ade receiving portion to be sprung slightly away from its supportingsurface when the contact member is secured to a support at its upperedge. I

ARTHUR C. GAYNOR.

